British-Irish actor
Ben Ashenden |
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| Born | 1989 or 1990 (age 34–35)[1]
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| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
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| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, writer |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
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Ben Ashenden is a British-Irish actor, writer and comedian. He is half of the double-act, The Pin, with Alexander Owen, with whom he has made four series for BBC Radio 4, picking up nominations at the 2017 Writers' Guild Awards.[2] and Radio Academy Awards,[3] and winning the BBC Radio Award for Best Comedy.[4]
Early life
Ashenden was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, and grew up in Radlett. His father is a builder and his mother is a bookseller. He has one sister. He went to the Haberdashers' Aske's School for Boys[5] and performed with the Chicken Shed Theatre Company before studying English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.[6]
Career
Ashenden met his double-act colleague, Alexander Owen, at the University of Cambridge. They co-wrote/performed (with Joey Batey, Joe Bannister, Mark Fiddaman and Simon Haines) the sketch show ‘Good Clean Men’.[7][8] Ashenden and Owen then performed with the Cambridge Footlights, as part of the first troupe to tour America, in a show directed by Liam Williams and Daran Johnson.[9]
Upon graduation the pair took their sketch act, The Pin, to the Edinburgh Fringe. Their most recent[when?] show, The Pin: Backstage, was described by The Guardian as “one of Edinburgh’s most dazzling comedy shows”,[10] and is now in development with Sonia Friedman Productions].
As an actor, his film credits include Bridget Jones Baby, Sulphur and White, and Horrible Histories: The Movie. His TV credits include Avenue 5 (HBO), The English Game (Netflix), W1A (BBC1), Stath Lets Flats (C4), Brotherhood (Comedy Central), Plebs (ITV2) and Sky Christmas special, Cinderella: After Ever After.
As a writer, he co-created the animated series Oi, Leonardo! for BBC3, and has written for BBC1 shows Walliams and Friend and Tracey Ullman's Show, BBC3's Famalam], and Showtime’s Who is America?
In 2020 The Pin released “The Special Relationship”[11] an 8-part series on Audible, co-starring Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, Jamie Demetriou, Lolly Adefope and Kate Berlant. It largely repurposes sketches from their Radio 4 show within the context of a fictionalised attempt to break into the New York comedy scene.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
| 2013
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BBC Comedy Feeds
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Episode: "Kerry"
|
| 2014
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Siblings
|
Michael
|
Episode: "Balcombe's Funeral"
|
| 2015
|
Drunk History
|
Drunk Storyteller
|
Episode: "The Krays/Guy Fawkes"
|
| Brotherhood
|
Dan
|
Series regular
|
| 2016
|
Halloween Comedy Shorts
|
Nick
|
Episode: "Jamie Demetriou's Horror: Oh God"
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| Crazyhead
|
Luke
|
Episode: "Penguin or Cow?"
|
| 2016-17
|
Witless
|
PC Colin Naysmith
|
2 episodes
|
| 2017
|
Henry IX
|
Damian
|
3 episodes
|
| Coconut
|
James
|
4 episodes
|
| W1A
|
Assistant Floor Manager
|
1 episode
|
| 2017-18
|
Tracey Breaks the News
|
Various
|
3 episodes
|
| Tracey Ullman's Show
|
Various
|
Series regular
|
| 2018
|
Oi Leonardo
|
Various
|
Mini-series
|
| Sick Note
|
Officer Errol
|
Episode: "Operation Thunderbolt"
|
| 2018-19
|
Stath Lets Flats
|
Tristan
|
2 episodes
|
| 2019
|
Plebs
|
Posh Man
|
Episode: "The New Flat"
|
| 2020
|
Avenue 5
|
Rick
|
2 episodes
|
| The English Game
|
Cattermole
|
1 episode
|
| 2021
|
Breeders
|
Teaching Assistant
|
Episode: "No Surrender"
|
| Petrichor
|
Stuart
|
1 episode
|
| 2021-23
|
Ghosts
|
Captain of the Guards
|
2 episodes
|
| 2022
|
Deep Heat
|
Mike
|
Episode: "The 'Tour'"
|
| Ten Percent
|
Estate Agent
|
1 episode
|
| Ellie & Natasia
|
Various
|
3 episodes
|
| 1899
|
Darrel
|
3 episodes
|
| 2023
|
A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou
|
Fred
|
TV special
|
| Intelligence
|
Chris Dibbs
|
Episode: "A Special Agent Special"
|
| Hijack
|
Adam
|
Recurring role; 5 episodes
|
Stage
| Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Venue
|
Notes
|
| 2009
|
Wind in the Willows
|
Badger
|
Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh
|
as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
|
| Good Clean Men
|
Writer/Performer/Director
|
Corpus Playroom, Cambridge
|
|
| Barry! Pull Your Finger Out!
|
Hugo
|
udderBELLY, Edinburgh
|
as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
|
| Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
|
Amara
|
ADC Theatre, Cambridge
|
|
| 2010
|
Armageddapocalypse 2: The Explosioning
|
Performer
|
ADC Theatre, Cambridge
|
|
| The Oxford Revue and Friends
|
Writer/Performer
|
Oxford Arts Theatre, Oxford
|
|
| Romeo and Juliet
|
Gregory
|
Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge
|
|
| Cambridge Comedy Fest
|
Writer/Performer
|
Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge
|
|
| Good for You
|
Writer/Performer
|
International Tour
|
with Cambridge Footlights
|
| The Pin
|
Writer/Performer/Director
|
ADC Theatre, Cambridge
|
|
| 2011
|
Pretty Little Panic
|
Writer/Performer
|
International Tour
|
with Cambridge Footlights
|
| 2015
|
Ten Seconds with the Pin
|
Writer/Performer/Director
|
Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh
|
as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
|
| 2020
|
The Comeback
|
Writer/Performer
|
Noël Coward Theatre
|
|
Awards and nominations
References
External links
